LIRA'S DIRE ALPHA

Lira happily hopped along, nipping at the flowers as she passed. Her mum walked behind her, cautiously watching the bushes beside them to make sure no one was hiding there. Lira stopped to stare at a flower she had never seen before, earning a growl from her mother. Her mother was in a hurry to get her safely home. It was dangerous out here—especially for little Lira. Lira was a small, multicolored wolf who looked like a puppy. Cute and seemingly harmless, she could easily be mistaken for a wolf-dog or a Siberian husky if not for her tails and unusual eyes. She continued hopping happily until she heard a rustle in the trees. Turning toward her mother, she saw that she was already crouched and ready to attack. Lira immediately ran to her side. That was what her mother had always told her to do whenever she sensed danger, and that was exactly what she did now. "If anything happens and we need to run, quickly get on my back, you hear?" her mother said. They could not speak physically, but they could communicate through their minds. She and her mum shared a mind link—something her mother said other wolves didn't have. The rustling in the trees was not her imagination. A huge grey wolf stepped out from the forest. Lira's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. This was her first time seeing another wolf apart from her mother and grandmother, and neither of them was anywhere near this big. She hadn't known wolves could come in extra-large sizes. The giant wolf didn't look friendly. Her mother slowly backed away as the wolf approached. She growled, and Lira quickly jumped onto her back. At first, it looked like a fight was about to break out between her mother and the giant wolf, but that wasn't the case. It wasn't a fight. It was an ambush. The grey wolf growled, and suddenly wolves of different colours and sizes emerged from the woods as if they had been there all along. Lira clung tightly to her mother. She didn't know how strong the other wolves were, but she knew her mother was abnormally powerful—or at least that's what Grandma always said. "Baby, you're going to run when I attack," her mother said through their mind link. "Why, Mama?" Lira asked. She didn't want to leave her mother here with these bad wolves. She wanted to watch her mother defeat them and then go home together. "I just want you to be safe, baby. Run to the pond where we usually stop to swim. Hide inside the fallen tree trunk near the water and do not come out if anybody calls for you. If all goes well, I'll come for you." Lira was confused, but she agreed. She lovingly scratched her mother's back. She was going to hide and wait for her mama. What her mother didn't tell her was what to do if things didn't go well. And judging by the look in her eyes, her mother already knew there was a chance they wouldn't. But there was no point frightening her baby. By now, the wolves had completely surrounded them, forming a circle with mother and daughter trapped in the middle. The moment her mother lunged at the giant grey wolf, Lira leapt from her back and ran. She was small and not easily noticed, but that didn't stop some of the wolves from spotting her. They growled loudly, and immediately a large brown wolf broke away from the pack and chased after her. Lira was tiny, but she was fast. No matter how hard the brown wolf pushed itself, she stayed just ahead of it. With an angry growl, the wolf sped up and lunged forward, accidentally running right over Lira. But Lira had seen an opportunity. The moment the wolf passed over her, she darted into a nearby rabbit burrow. The brown wolf didn't realize what had happened until several steps later. It turned around and searched frantically. It sniffed the air. It scattered leaves and dirt. It crashed through bushes and circled the area repeatedly. But it couldn't find her. Lira remained hidden inside the burrow until the wolf finally gave up and disappeared into the forest. Lira stayed curled up inside the rabbit burrow long after the brown wolf had left. At first, she wasn't afraid. Mama always won. Whenever she and Grandma talked about her, they always said she was the strongest wolf they knew. So Lira simply waited for the sounds of fighting to stop and for her mother's familiar voice to appear in her mind. Any minute now. She waited. And waited. And waited. The forest slowly grew quiet. The birds that had fled during the commotion returned to the trees. The wind rustled through the leaves. Somewhere nearby, water trickled gently into the pond. But her mother's voice never came. Lira's ears drooped. "Mama?" she called through their mind link. Nothing. She tried again. "Mama?" Still nothing. The silence felt wrong. Usually, whenever she spoke through their link, her mother answered almost immediately. Even if she was far away, she always answered. Lira shifted nervously. Maybe Mama was still fighting. Yes, that had to be it. The bad wolves were probably stronger than she thought. Her mother would come. She just had to wait. As the sun slowly began to sink, hunger gnawed at her stomach tempting her to come out of her hiding place. She crawled out of the burrow cautiously and looked around. No wolves. No sounds of fighting. No Mama. The little wolf swallowed hard and remembered the instructions. Hide in the fallen tree trunk. Don't come out if anybody calls. She quickly raced toward the pond. The fallen tree lay exactly where her mother had said it would be. Its massive trunk was hollow, creating a tunnel large enough for Lira to squeeze inside. She settled into the darkness and waited. The sky turned orange. Then purple. Then black. Still nothing. For the first time in her life, Lira spent the night without her mother and she didn't like it. Every snapping twig made her jump. Every hoot of an owl made her ears flatten. She was scared but still held on to hoped her mama was on her way. # starry writing marathon